Woman as Healer – $180

• Paperback: 268 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala; 1St Edition edition (March 13, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780877736165

Healing has always been regarded as a sacred function, one that was at first inextricably linked to women. Achterberg argues that the way in which society views its deities is fundamental to the status of women in medicine. This book traces the history of women as healers, midwives, nurses, and doctors from ancient times to modern. Intertwined with this history is an analysis of each society’s cosmology, which determines whether women healers will be suppressed or encouraged. The result is a series of compelling stories of knowledge practiced and then lost through cultural change and suppression. Achterberg ranges from an eloquent and cogent analysis of the medieval witch trials to an incisive analysis of health care education and the health care professions in the 20th century. Highly recommended for academic and public libraries.